A group of Republicans including actors, producers and writers who have held salon-type meetings to discuss politics and the Iraq war for over a year has grown to about 100, from 8 at first, said the character actor Robert Davi, adding that Mr. Schwarzenegger has galvanized many of them. As Michael Harbert, a writer and producer who is a Republican and has worked on G.O.P. campaigns, put it: "He clearly opened the door and made it not just acceptable but fashionable to say, `I'm an Arnold Schwarzenegger Republican.' That's a new title. He's brought that cachet back."

How superficial is this?:

These days, Hollywood is humming a different tune. "The movie industry respects a hit, and this movie is working because it's good," said Sean Daniel, a producer and former studio executive who voted against the recall and for the Democratic candidate, Lt. Gov. Cruz M. Bustamante, last October. "This isn't just marketing. This is real."

Say what you will about Barbra Streisand, but at least she isn't suddenly jumping on the Arnold bandwagon just because he's got some heat.

This may indicate that Hollywood liberalism is more of a social-convention than a deeply-held political philosophy, at least for many. They don't care about issues; they just want to be on the hip, hot side.

I guess we probably pretty much knew that already, but it's nice to have some empircal confirmation.